Montrezl Harrell Reportedly Traded to Hornets; Wizards Get Vernon Carey, Ish Smith
The Washington Wizards have traded big man Montrezl Harrell to the Charlotte Hornets for center Vernon Carey and guard Ish Smith, per ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski.
Harrell, 28, has averaged 14.1 points on 64.5 percent shooting and 6.7 rebounds in his seventh NBA season (first with the Wizards).
The former Louisville star spent his first two seasons with the Houston Rockets before getting traded to the Los Angeles Clippers.
Harrell enjoyed his best seasons with the Clips, winning the NBA's Sixth Man of the Year award in 2019-20 after posting a career-high 18.6 points per game and 7.1 rebounds per game.
After a three-season stint with the Clippers, Harrell stayed in town but signed a one-year deal with the Lakers. He stayed productive (13.5 PPG on 62.2 FG% and 6.2 REB), but fell out of the rotation by the end of the season.
The Lakers then sent Harrell as part of a blockbuster deal that also included Kyle Kuzma and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope to the Washington Wizards for point guard Russell Westbrook.
With his sustained production and expiring contract, Harrell was a prime candidate to be dealt. Rumors circulated regarding him, with Jake Fischer of Bleacher Report writing on Jan. 18 that Harrell "has been considered available for trade."
And now he's heading to Charlotte, where he'll hope to help a 28-28 Hornets team sitting ninth in the East.
As far as the Wizards go, they get a veteran in the well-traveled Smith, who has played for 12 teams in his 12-season career.
This will mark his second go-around with the Wizards after he averaged 9.2 points, 4.5 assists and 3.3 rebounds in 24.2 minutes per game over the 2019-20 and 2020-21 seasons.
The Hornets selected Carey, a former Duke star, with the No. 32 overall pick in the 2020 NBA draft. He's only played in 23 games over his two NBA seasons, averaging 2.3 points and 1.4 rebounds in 5.7 minutes per game.
Still, he's just 20 years old and has plenty of time to further develop his game, so the Wizards could have gotten a steal in return.
